11 Months!

It's almost a year since our adoption date and what a year it's been! Our sons are doing great. What we get most from people is how happy they are. They truly are just inwardly happy little guys. They love to dance and sing. They love to run, ride bikes, swim, play in the dirt (still), love to learn anything, love Power Rangers (even though they've never watched it on TV), Spiderman, Spongebob, Batman, Superman (pretty much all the superheroes), they love ice cream and gum and ask for it at every opportunity, they love animals and especially their dog Jotsi (and Jotsi loves them!), they love computers, school, learning, getting pennies and fried eggs. Okay, now I'm starting to ramble. It's hard to update when it's been so long but I thought I should because it's been too long. Vlady is in kindergarten and does very well. His english is very good and he knows everything that a kindergartener should know. We find this incredible that in less than a year, he can catch up to everything. Alexei stays home with me and we have school at home. We go over a calendar and go over the days of the week, count, go over the months, etc. Then we work in a workbook (counting and writing workbooks) and then we do various things (coloring, shapes, colors, etc.). Alexei likes to tell Rich about what he did "in school" when he gets home from work. He's very proud! The boys really love to do everything that we do, camping, hiking, going on walks, swimming, the beach, movies, games, cards, board games. They also have really good voices and seem more musically inclined than myself although Rich has a good voice and can kind of play the guitar. We'd like to get them into either guitar or piano classes. We think we will put Vlady and Alex in soccer soon. They both are competitive with one another but are very good to each other. They look out for one another. If one gets candy or a toy they will 90% of the time share it with the other. Or they will ask the person "for one for their brother." The attachment gets stronger with time. They really just needed someone to teach them about family, love, and trust. Once they learned and felt comfortable everything fell into place. There are still things we are working on but they'll get it. Wow, Rich and I are still working on ourselves and how imperfect we are. We know that they will not be perfect and we don't want them to be. What we expect from them is to love and respect people, animals, the earth and to try hard and be their best. There is something very special about both of them to Rich and I. They are beautiful in every way. Rich and I get much less sleep but have come to accept it and don't even think about the times we used to sleep 9 hours! We are always rushed and our patience is always tested. We are constantly talking to them. The boys have an energy level of 110% from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Nonstop...we try to remember when we had that much energy and when our bodies could do anything!!! It's fun to watch them. I think of my Mom and Dad who were in their 40's and 50's when I was a child and teenager! I think about them alot now with the boys. When we all read at night before going to bed, Rich and I are almost falling asleep. I think of when I would sing songs to my Mom before going to bed and I remember asking her "mom are you awake, are you paying attention?" And now I understand just how tired she must have been with 6 kids. Both boys have grown about three inches and gained about 6 pounds. I'll post some new pics. I hope to get this blog printed up into a book soon. Alls well.